A fire in Asbury Park yesterday has left a single mother and her four children, ages 2 through 11 without a suitable place to live.

Sherrice Lyles was sitting on the porch of the Prospect Ave home she moved into just last week yesterday afternoon when she smelled smoke and heard the alarms go off inside her home. She entered the house and saw flames in her son’s room and attempted to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher.

With the assistance of the Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross, Lyles and her children are together in a single hotel room nearby for a week. They are in need of temporary housing, and funds to replace their clothes and furniture.

Lyles has had a tough run lately. She was forced from the home she had been renting from former Asbury Park politician who let the home go into foreclosure while continuing to collect rent from her. The joy of moving into her new home after that ordeal was crushed by the fire yesterday. She deserves a break. Let’s help her.

A gofundme page has been set up to assist Sherrice and her children. MMM has verified the authenticity of the page.

UPDATE

Donations of clothing, gift cards and toiletries for Sherrice and her children are being accepted at Diane Turton Realtors in Press Plaza from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at Hotel Tidesfrom 5 to 9 p.m., according to AsburyParkSun.

Asbury Park Toy Drive Founder Connie Breech, drove the family to the Community Resource Center and a Rite Aide to pick up items they will need in the coming days, according the news website.

“The family will need clothing, toiletry, and gift cards, and things they can use in the immediate because they only have so much space in the hotel room,” Breech said. “But later on, when they get settled back in the home, they will need more items like things from Bed Bath Beyond, Target, or Foodtown.”